Advertising display board



March 26, 1963 LK. HUFF 3,082,557

ADVERTISING DISPLAY BOARD Filed Jan. 2, 1962 2 heets-Sheet l 2 4 Z INVENTOR. 66- IRWIN K. HUFF BY lbdiwwu/ (@MQ? March 1963 1. K. HUFF 3,082,557

ADVERTISING DISPLAY BOARD Filed Jan. 2, 1962 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

IRWIN'K. HUFF HTTQF/VEYi 3,l32,57 ADVERTidil IG BESPLAY B-JARD Irwin K. Hair, Biuetieid, W. Va, assignor to Cart Ads Corporation, iiiuetield, 7. "Va, a corporation of West Virginia Fiied .Jan. 2, 1962, Ser. No. 16$,94- 3 (Claims. (6!. iii-1%} This invention relates to small advertising display boards and in particular to a board adapted in addition to serve as a clip board.

It is an obiect of the present invention to provide a display board of novel construction which is adapted to be used for displaying a sheet of advertising material while also serving as a clip board for holding papers. Such a device is useful, for example, for attaching to a supermarket basket whereby the advertising material is brought to the attention of the customer and whereby the customer may use the board to hold a shopping list.

It is a further object to provide a board of the above type which is simple and economical to construct yet is attractive in appearance and sufiiciently sturdy to with stand long periods of use. a

It is a still further object to provide a board of the above type Wlnch is provided with a magnetically latched flap for retaining papers in place on the board.

Broadly, the board of the present invention comprises a frame having an open front, a hard surfaced sheet within the frame on which may be mounted a sheet of advertising material, a small flap engaging the hard surface for temporarily and releasably retaining a sheet of paper on the surface and means for .ttaching the board to a supermarket basket or other support.

The invention will be further understood by a reading of the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment taken in conjunction with the drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a display board embodying the principles of the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is an elevational sectional view taken on the line 22 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary view of part of FIGURE 2 illustrating the operation of the flap;

FIGURE 4 is a fragmentary view showing the upper part of the back of the board; and

FIGURE 5 is an exploded, perspective view of the board.

Referring to FIGURES 1 and 5 it is seen that the display board illustrated therein includes, as major components, a frame member 12 having an open front and an open top, a top retaining member .14 engaging the top of the frame member, a pair of eye members 16 extending upwardly frornthe top member, a backing sheet '18 of smooth, rigid material, such as fiber board, within the frame member 12 and a fiap 2t pivoted to the top member 14 and releasably engageable with the front of the backing sheet 18. Normally, a sheet of transparent plastic 22 of approximately the same size as the backing sheet 18 will be provided over the backing sheet so that a sheet of printed advertising material 23 may be retained therebetween. In some case it may be desirable to omit the transparent sheet 22.

As shown, the frame member 12- is a rectangular sheet of metal, such as aluminum, three edges of which have been bent or curled through about 180", as at 24, so as to form a shallow rectangular frame having a flat back portion 26, an open front and an open top. Preferably, the corners of the sheet between the curled edges are cut away, as at 23, so that adjacent curled edges 2-:- do not overlap each other. The extremities of the curled edges are spaced slightly from the back portion 26 thereby forming three slots in which the bottom and 3,3Z,557 Patented Mar. 2%, 13

side edges of the backing sheet 18 advertising material 23 and transparent cover sheet 22 are retained.

The top retaining member 14 of the board is an elongated strip which engages the top of the back portion 26 bet-ween the curled side edges and is secured in place by any suitable means such as a pair of spaced sheet metal screws 30 which pass through holes 32 in back portion 26 into the top member 14*. As. seen in FIG- URE 1, the ends of the back portion need not extend into the slots formed by the curled. side edges.

In the preferred constructionthe top member 14 is an extruded strip of metal, such as aluminum, which is provided with suitable grooves for retaining the eyes 16 and the flap 2% without the use of additional fastening devices. When viewed in transverse cross section the top member is seen to have a thin, dependingarm 34 provided at its lower extremity with a vertical groove 36 the upper portion 37 of which is rounded and of greater cross section than the. lower portion.

Above the arm 34 the top member 14 issomewhat thicker and is provided along its rear surface with an L-shaped groove 38 having a horizontal portion 40 and a downwardly extending vertical'portion 42. Asseen in FIGURE 3, the screws 30- areoof such diameter that.

as to be retainedin top'member 14 in amanner such.

that no additional fastening means are required. In the preferred embodiment, each eye is constructed-of a thin metal strip formed in the shape best illustrated'in FIG- URES Z'and 5. \As seen therein, each eye member 16- includes a loop portion 48 intermediate the ends of:the strip and a pair of generally parallel legs Sit and 52 depending from the loop portion. minates in a foot 54 extendingat generally aright angle thereto. The rear leg 52 terminates inan L-shaped foot having a generally horizontalsection 56 generally parallel to foot 54 and. a depending generally vertical section 58.

As seen in FIGURE '2, foot :54 of the front leg 5i?" engages the upper surface of groove id, and thefoot sections 5% and 58 of rear leg 52 engage thelower surface of groove 41? and the rearsurface of groove 42, respectively. The legsreside in a vertical slot went through lip Aie'and into the rear surface of top member 14 and are thus held between the top member and back piece 26. The material from which the eyes are constructed is preferably slightly spring-like so that the legs 50 and '52 tend to assume a position slightly spaced from eachother as seen in FIGURE 5. When the legs are compressed with the fingers the foot portions 54, 56 and 58 may be easily inserted into grooves 419 and 4-2 opposite slots 60. When the legs are released, the foot portions spring away from each other and engage the grooves t-ti and 42 as seen in FIGURE 2 thereby retaining the eyes in their proper position.

The flap 28, like the eyes 16, is constructed so as to be retained by the top member 14- without additional fastening means. As shown, flap 2t! is a thin rigid flap of metal, such as steel, having an upper curled edge 62 which rotatably engages and is retained in portion 37 of groove 36 in top member 14. In assembling the device the curled edge 62 is inserted horizontally into groove 36 at one end of top member 14 and slid horizontally The front leg 50 tor-- to a center location therein where it is retained in any suitable manner. For example, a punch mark made in the rear of arm 34 adjacent each vertical side of the flap 20 will reduce the width of groove 36 so that the flap cannot slide horizontally out of the groove. Conveniently, flap 20 is also constructed with a small raised portion 64 in the center of its lower edge so as to provide a recess which is easily engaged by a finger for raising the flap.

According to the invention the flap is provided with a magnetic latch in the form of a permanent magnet 66 which tends to hold the flap against the backing sheet 18 whereby a sheet of paper 68 (FIGURES 1-3), such as a shopping list, may be retained on the board. Conveniently, the magnet 66 is set into a recess in the backing sheet 18 such that the front surfaces of the magnet and the sheet are substantially flush. The display board is further adapted to have a pencil 7'0 releasably held thereto as by means of a permanent magnet. As seen in the drawings top member 14 is provided with a longitudinal top groove 72 having a recess in the approximate center thereof in which a permanent magnet 74 is lo cated. The pencil .70, which may have an exterior magnetic jacket 76 thereon, rests in the groove Hand is retained in place by the magnet 74.

In use, the display board 10 may be mounted on the top rung 78 (FIGURE 1) of the back of a supermarket basketby means of the eyes 16. To accomplish this, the board is partially disassembled by removing top member 14. The eyes 16 are then removed from top member 14, slipped over the rung 78 and the board is reassembled. A customer using the supermarket basket will thus not only be made aware of the advertising material 23 but can also use the board for holding a shopping list. As seen in FIGURE 3, a shopping list or other sheet of paper 68 may easily be. inserted and retained between the flap 2t and the transparent sheet 22. The pencil 70 is readily available for writing purposes and the hard smooth backing sheet 18 provides a suitable writing surface for the sheet of paper 68.

Thus, it will be appreciated that a novel, economical and serviceable display board is provided by the present invention. The board in having a small number of parts is simple in construction and is easily assembled and disassembled for changing the advertising material there:

in. At the same time the board in requiring disassembly for removal from its support and for removal of the advertising material will discourage tampering by unauthorized persons. The simple and effective means for latching the flap and the pencil require no springs or other easily lost or damaged parts. The folded edges'of the frame not only readily form the retaining means for the backing sheet but also protect the same from damage by extending outwardly thereof. Further the folded edges add considerable strength to the board.

While a preferred embodiment has been described, it is not intended that the details thereof be limiting except as they appear in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A display board comprising: a frame member having a generally flat back portion; a sheet of hard, smoothsurfaced material within said frame; first retaining means overlapping at least one edge of said sheet and retaining the same within said frame member; second retaining means overlapping at least one other edge of said sheet and retaining the same within the frame member said second retaining means being releasably secured to said frame member; a flap pivoted to said second retaining means for movement toward and away from said sheet; and means biasing said fiap toward said sheet.

2. A display board as in claim 1 further comprising a sheet of transparent material retained within said frame member and overlying said hard smooth-surfaced sheet.

3. A display board as in claim 1 wherein said first retaining means are integral with said back portion and are edges thereof folded so as to retain said sheet within said frame member.

4. A display board as in claim 1 wherein said biasing means includes a permanent magnet set into said hard, smooth surfaced sheet adjacent said flap whereby the latter is releasably held in engagement with said sheet.

' 5. A display board as in claim 1 wherein said second retaining means is an extruded member having a longi tudinal groove in the portion which overlaps said sheet and wherein an edge of said flap is pivoted in and ret ained in said groove.

6. An advertising display board comprising: a rectangular frame member having a generally flat back portion three edges of which are folded so as to form slots between the edges and said Iback portion; a sheet of hard, smooth-surfaced material within said frame; a top retaining member overlying an edge of said hard sheet and releasably secured to said back portion along the unfolded edge thereof; a flap of magnetic material pivoted to the portion of said top retaining member which overlies said sheet for movement toward and away from said sheet; a permanent magnet set into said sheet adjacent saidflap.

7. A displayboard as in claim 6 further comprising at least one eye member extending from said top retaining member.

8. A display board as in claim 6 wherein said top retaining member is an extruded member and an edge of said flap is pivoted in and retained in a longitudinal groove in said top member.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,825,160 Mellor et al. Mar. 4, 1958 2,864,189 Campbell Dec. 16, 1958 2,888,761 Miller June 2, 1959 I 3,029,537 Hopp et al. Apr. 17, 1962 

1. A DISPLAY BOARD COMPRISING: A FRAME MEMBER HAVING A GENERALLY FLAT BACK PORTION; A SHEET OF HARD, SMOOTHSURFACED MATERIAL WITHIN SAID FRAME; FIRST RETAINING MEANS OVERLAPPING AT LEAST ONE EDGE OF SAID SHEET AND RETAINING THE SAME WITHIN SAID FRAME MEMBER; SECOND RETAINING MEANS OVERLAPPING AT LEAST ONE OTHER EDGE OF SAID SHEET AND RETAINING THE SAME WITHIN THE FRAME MEMBER SAID SECOND RETAINING MEANS BEING RELEASABLY SECURED TO SAID FRAME MEMBER; A FLAP PIVOTED TO SAID SECOND RETAINING MEANS FOR MOVEMENT TOWARD AND AWAY FROM SAID SHEET; AND MEANS BIASING SAID FLAP TOWARD SAID SHEET. 